Petite Soeur
by MusicRocks807
Summary: We all remember the rugged pirates of Ice Age 4. Who wouldn't? But they weren't always that way... Travel back to when Shira was innocent, Squint was (sort of) stable, and Gutt was... decent? Learn the stories of their sea-faring childhood, and discover what made them who they are today. Warning: Rating will most likely go up in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**At the request of MBSAVfan1 about half an hour ago, I decided to post this at long last! I was working on a few new one-shots, but I thought, "Hey, I already have the first two chapters of ****_Petite Soeur _****saved on my computer! Why don't I just post that?" So... yeah. This is set after some events explained in a one-shot called ****_Dreams,_**** but that doesn't really ****_have _****to be read first.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age.**

**Just a warning, I haven't written for the pirates in a while, so this might be a little rusty at first. Also, this was written over a year ago, I think, so sorry about any mistakes.**

Chapter 1 – The First Night

A silver sabre cub padded around on the pirate ship, never straying far from her kangaroo companion.

"An' this is where Cap'n stores the bounty," Raz finished, her tour concluded. Shira's eyes grew wide at the great pile of fruit that loomed over her.

"Wow..." she breathed. "He collected all that?"

"Yep!" Raz nodded. "An' he said tha' we'll be able ta get tha' much one day if we let 'im train us!"

"This ship is amazing!" declared Shira, proud to be part of the crew.

"Alright everyone!" shouted the Captain, holding onto the mast again. "Time for bed!"

This was met with a chorus of complaints from all the children except for Shira, who didn't want to go to bed either but thought it was rude to complain when she'd only joined the crew mere hours ago. Captain Gutt refused to take no for an answer, and all the kids soon ended up in bed. Shira stood awkwardly, not sure where to go.

"Do ya wanna come sleep ova 'ere, Sheila?" asked Raz, patting the space next to her.

"Thanks Raz!" sighed Shira gratefully, hurrying over and lying down next to the kangaroo.

Raz smiled at Shira, and cuddled up against the sabre. Shira giggled and hugged Raz back. Even after just a couple of hours, they had become fast friends. Captain Gutt himself wasn't that old, probably about eighteen, while the oldest crew member was only five. Shira wasn't best pleased to discover she was the youngest on the ship, but nobody treated her any different.

"Goodnight everyone!" called Shira cheerily, waving with one paw to the startled crew.

"Ugh... night Sheila..." answered Raz uncertainly.

"Goodnight..." Squint tested the new word, and found he quite liked it.

"Goodnight!" repeated Gupta, enjoying how the phrase sounded. One by one, the rest of the crew repeated their newest word over and over, while the Captain simply observed. _Unbelievable, _he thought to himself as he watched the kids experiment with the new word. _She's been here less than a day, and she's already influencing my crew! She has the making of a fine pirate, maybe even first mate..._

In the end, Gutt allowed the kids an extra half hour, as they were all so excited with their new word that they couldn't possibly be expected to sleep. He watched with slight annoyance as they jumped and laughed and chattered happily, wanting them to go to sleep so they wouldn't be sleepy the next day during training. Shira padded up beside him, remaining unnoticed as she travelled so quietly.

"Captain Gutt, sir?" she whispered softly, so soft he only just heard her.

"Yes, Miss Shira?"

"I'm sorry that I made the others too excited," she said, lowering her head. "My mommy always used to say goodnight to me when I went to sleep, and I only said it out of habit."

"It's alright, Miss Shira; you didn't mean any harm," replied the Captain. "But if you want to be a good pirate-"

"I do, I do!" she interrupted.

"Glad to hear it. But as I was saying, if you want to be a good pirate you need to break this habit of apologising. A pirate never says sorry."

"Sor- I mean, yes Captain Gutt!" answered Shira faithfully, nodding firmly.

He patted her on the head and sent her back to the other kids. She was greeted by Raz, who ran up to her and hugged her tight.

"Where were ya, Sheila?" asked Raz. "Ah was worried 'bout ya!"

"I was only gone for a few minutes!" laughed Shira, but she stopped laughing quickly. "And Raz?"

"Yeah?"

"My name's Shira, not Sheila. Just to say."

"Oh don't worry, Raz calls every girl she's ever met Sheila!" said Squint firmly, appearing beside the sabre. Raz nodded.

"Ah was raised like tha'. Not mah fault," answered Raz casually, draping an arm around Shira's shoulders.

Silas flapped over and landed on Shira's head, making the sabre laugh. She batted at the bird with her paw – after retracting her claws, of course – and he pecked her ears lightly. Both ended up on the floor laughing, which made the rest of the kids laugh too. Even the Captain smirked a little, but he quickly hid it, as he needed his crew's respect. This tired all of them out, Shira the most, so they all went to bed without hesitation when they were asked. Gutt actually had to carry little Shira to her spot beside Raz, as she was utterly wiped-out from the day's events. Raz hugged her newest sibling kindly, pleased that she finally had a sister, as she already had five brothers and was enjoying the company of another female.

"Goodnight!" chorused the kids, settling down for the night.

After Gutt had gone to his sleeping area, the special Captain's Quarters below deck that none of the kids were allowed in, Silas flapped over to Shira and Raz.

"Goodnight, _petite soeur,_" he whispered in Shira's ear, before flying back to his bed.

"What does '_petite soeur_' mean?" Shira asked Raz.

"I' means lil' sista," she answered, patting Shira's head. "An' tha's wha' ya are now. Our lil' sista."

Shira smiled contently as she snuggled into her new sister's fur, enjoying the fact she had a proper family. Raz laughed and watched her sleep, a smile coming onto her face. She had a feeling life on the pirate ship was going to get a lot better now that Shira was around.

**I know, short chapter, but to be honest, they're probably all going to be this short. And also OOC for... everyone... Don't judge me! The oldest on the crew currently is five! They're not going to be the no-nonsense warriors they were in the movie! ...Yet ;)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, this is another chapter I already had written, which means I no longer have a fall-back plan for this story. But it's okay; I think I can handle it, since it's not 3000-word-chapters like A Second Chance was.**

**Oh, and Bombina? I have neither died nor quit fanfiction, and I don't plan on doing either any time soon ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age, though if anyone's offering, I would very much like to :P**

Chapter 2 – Rats = Not Good!

As they had a new member in the crew, Captain Gutt decided to let the kids sleep in an extra hour, but he was still going to make them do training afterwards. Although he didn't wake them up with his normal yelling routine, he shook them roughly by the shoulders instead.

"Eep!" Shira squeaked in surprise, but soon realising it was just her new Captain. "Oh, I'm sor- I mean, I didn't mean to... I just, uhm, forgot about..."

Gutt half-smiled at her. "It's okay, you're still new around here. Just get used to things."

Shira nodded eagerly. Gutt went to shake Raz too, but Shira stopped him. "Oh, don't worry Captain Gutt, sir; I'll wake the others," she said, smiling, before gently tapping Raz's shoulder and calling. "Razzy, wake up!"

The kangaroo's golden eyes shot open instantly, and she smiled to see her new sister standing beside her. "Hey Sheila, Ah wasn't sure if Ah'd dreamed ya or no'!"

"You didn't dream me," replied Shira with a grin. "Hang on, I gotta go wake the others."

Leaving a very confused Raz behind, Shira ran over and calmly woke the others. She was back beside her new captain in record time, and the crew were more awake and ready for training than ever, pleased with the kind awakening for once. Gutt just stood there, thoroughly impressed and greatly surprised at how much his crew already listened to Shira, despite her being the newest and youngest member, having not long turned four and only joining yesterday.

And yet, she already had the whole crew awake and alert, even Flynn, who despite being one of the oldest, was far from the brightest and often argued with sleeping times more than the others. He wasn't really rebellious, just dumb, and he was only speaking his mind. They'd all done it at first, but Flynn was the only one who never learned, despite being one of the first to join the crew.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Gutt cleared his throat and began to talk. "Alright, you can all talk later. Even though we have a new little friend," he gestured to Shira, who blushed, "our schedule has not changed. Training will ensue as per usual."

There were a few groans and grumbles, but Shira didn't dare, for fear of irritating the Captain, whom she was rather afraid of. Plus, they'd been sailing quite fast, so she couldn't even see her old home anymore, and the thought of being kicked off the crew frightened the poor sabre drastically.

"C'mon, Shira!" called Raz, waving her over to where the others had moved to get their breakfast.

She followed hesitantly, suddenly feeling awkward, wishing she had eaten before she climbed aboard the crew's ship, as her eating habits would obviously be, uhm... different, to the others on board.

"Vhat's vrong?" asked Gupta quietly, noticing how distant she was.

"Hm? Oh, nothing..." she dismissed it, but he didn't, and neither did the others. They knew something was wrong, but they didn't bring it up again.

Shira stood uncomfortably as the other young animals dug into their fruit, wondering what she was going to do. She could go without breakfast today, and maybe without lunch, but eventually she would need to eat. And she ate meat. Hunger, she could deal with. After all, since her mother passed her father had rarely fed her, and she was too small to really find food herself. But starvation… That was a different matter entirely. She feared she would go slightly crazy and turn cannibal on one of her new crewmates at some point, which was a thought that scared her more than Gutt.

"Shira," came a voice behind her. The young cub turned, and saw Captain Gutt. "Come into my Captain's Quarters for a moment, I have something for you."

Fearfully, she glanced at Raz, who looked as scared as the sabre felt, before following the ape into the forbidden area. She was very new, but she'd picked up instantly that no-one went into the Captain's Quarters. Ever.

Gutt slid the ice door closed, so that the crew couldn't hear them, and then pulled across a curtain of leaves, so that they couldn't be seen either. Then, he went to the corner of the room, picked up something, before tossing it down in front of the confused little cub. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was a rat, most likely a dead one.

She looked up at the Captain questioningly. "W-What, am I, s-supposed to do with it?" she whispered, just being in the forbidden part of the ship terrified her, and the Captain's presence scared her further.

He shrugged. "You're a sabretooth. You need meat. Eat it."

Shira's eyes widened. _Eat_ _a rat?!_ How could she be expected to eat a rat?! But he was right; she did need meat, and apparently this was her only option (except on a raid, which she'd heard great stories about). Reluctantly, she leaned down and took a tiny bite of the rat. She shuddered. The rotten taste made her want to retch.

Gutt noticed this, but didn't take pity on her. She may have been a cub, but she was still the newest member of his crew, and she needed to learn she wasn't going to get any special treatment for being young and cute. The only reason she was allowed in the Captain's Quarters was because the rest of the crew would most likely vomit at the sight of her eating a rat. The Captain himself felt slightly queasy, but the sabre's disgusted expression didn't help much.

Finally, Shira finished eating the repulsive rat, smiling proudly at the Captain, forgetting the blood in her fur. "All done!" she declared, happy that she'd managed to finish it without puking.

"Good," Gutt grinned at her. "Want another?"

He knew she didn't – he was just teasing her. But the sabre didn't see this, and actually clutched her stomach, afraid she would be sick in the Captain's Quarters. Hurriedly, Gutt moved her out of the room and to the side of the deck, not wanting her to be sick on his ship. Thankfully, she wasn't sick at all, but Gutt still wiped her face with a large leaf, to get rid of her kill's blood.

"I'll get some fish later," he muttered, not wanting a repeat of the rats.

Shira thanked him, before running to Raz, nuzzling her marsupial friend. Raz hugged the sabre back, thinking she'd just gotten sea-sick.

"Don't worry Sheila, all of us ge' sea-sick ev'ry now an' then," Raz comforted her. Deciding to just go with it, Shira nodded.

"Thanks, Raz..." she murmured into the kangaroo's shoulder.

Gupta gently patted her back, while Squint just scowled. He hated all the special attention Shira was getting; so she got sea-sick, he'd been sea-sick tons of times, and the most he got from Raz was a warning not to be sick on her, if he valued his life.

And now this newbie came along and got cuddles and pets and sympathy, all because she was a little _girl_.

He hated her… mostly.

**So... Review? *puppy dog eyes* Also, thanks for reading :P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I haven't been replying to PMs lately; lot of important stuff happening in CeCe Land currently :) Also apologies for the short chapter, but I think it's kinda cute... IDK. **

**Oh, and before I forget, the 'same difference debate' in ASC was in Chapter 21, Bombina (Message me when you can actually get an account, okay? :P).**

**Disclaimer: I would love to own Ice Age, though clearly, I do not.**

Chapter 3 – First Day of Training

Later that day, when Shira had recovered from her 'sea-sickness' (she decided telling her new friends that she ate a dead rat probably wouldn't make them like her much), Gutt gathered them all together.

"Everybody here? Alright." He spoke loud and clear, but he wasn't quite shouting. Gutt didn't need to shout; he knew his crew was already listening. "Like I said, training. As. Usual. Okay? Yes, Shira will need to be incorporated, but nobody is taking it easy, be that on her or in general. Everyone clear?"

"Aye aye, Captain Gutt," chorused the crew, in their variety of accents.

"Good. Let's begin with some stretches," ordered Gutt.

His motley crew immediately obliged, slipping into their general routine. Shira looked around for a moment, bewildered. Everybody seemed to know exactly what they were doing, and seemed to have done it before.

"Psst."

She turned to see Raz glancing up at her. The small kangaroo was sat on the deck, stretching her legs out. "Copy Boris," she advised quietly, indicating with her head towards the boar.

Since both mammals walked on four legs and couldn't hold an additional weapon, Shira discovered throughout the first half of the training session – which consisted mostly of group workouts and general exercise – that she could avoid that awkwardness of not knowing what to do by imitating whatever Boris was doing.

And despite the fact that the exercises she had performed hadn't been designed for her, the young tiger still felt aches in her muscles and bones when they took a break for snacks (though Gutt insisted they call it a 'refuelling intermission').

After fifteen minutes of nibbling slices of fruit, Gutt announced that it was time to start one-on-one sparring.

"Raz, can I, uhm… _spar_," Shira tested the new word, "with you?"

The kangaroo looked remorseful. "Sorry, Sheila; Ah usually spar with Squint. Y'know, since we both fight with knives?"

"Oh, right…" Shira sighed. Neither of the girls noticed a small rabbit allow an even smaller smile of relief onto his face. "Well, maybe I should ask…"

Suddenly, she felt something nudging against her side. She turned to see Boris beside her, a sheepish smile on his snout. "Hi, Boris," she greeted him. She then remembered how similarly they had trained earlier. "Want to spar?"

He nodded, but said nothing in return. The duo crossed to a separate part of the ship, as Squint approached Raz.

"Ready to spar, little buddy?" she asked, retrieving her spear. The shaft reached her shoulder, but the pointed shell on the top was about the size of the young jill's head.

Squint picked up two small knives constructed out of fish-bones and twirled them around. "Course I am! But, uh, Raz?"

"Hm?"

"Uh… Thanks for, you know… sticking with our, erm… system…"

Raz cracked a warm smile; she knew what he meant. "Ah'd never replace ya, Squint." He returned the smile, but hers quickly morphed into a grin. "Now, c'mon; Ah've gotta kick yer butt in a spar, don't Ah?"

Elsewhere on the ship, Shira and Boris circled each-other. The sabre blushed, nervous. "So, uhm… I've never really… _sparred _before… What do I, erm…?"

Her speculating was cut off when he charged at her, grunting angrily. She squealed and dodged at the last second, extending her claws to get a grip on the ice when she slid. When Boris charged again, she was prepared. She waited as long as possible, before leaping aside once more, displaying surprising agility. While he was still recovering from the inevitable skid on the ice, Shira pounced at him, almost pinning him to the ground. Somehow, however, Boris managed to roll away at the last second, causing Shira to hit the floor with a thud.

"Wow, you're good," she growled under her breath, pushing herself to her paws.

Boris was running towards her again. This time she stood her ground, hunched over with exhaustion. The contact was unavoidable. There was no way that…

…Boris could possibly avoid being pinning this time, since Shira pounced when he was right in front of her. Her paws landed on either side of his head, securing him to the ground.

She winked teasingly. "But I just might be better."

The sparring continued for an indeterminate amount of time, and Shira discovered that her earlier statement wasn't quite true; while she was showcasing great natural skill, her and Boris were equals at best. There was no way she was better than any of these well-trained kids… except maybe Silas, but even then it was just the size issue.

Late into the afternoon, Shira collapsed in the same spot she had slept in the previous night, yawning. A chuckling Raz sat beside her, stretching out beside the tiger.

"Hey. Tired?" inquired the kangaroo.

Shira didn't bother opening her blue eyes. "What do you think?"

Raz laughed. "Y'know, you did good for a newbie. Y'ever fought before?"

"Never," she answered honestly. "I just went off instinct."

"Well, yer instinct is mighty useful. Yer gonna be a great pirate one day, Sheila."

"I hope so…" Shira admitted quietly.


End file.
